DraftKing Makes $20 Bln Bid For Entain

(RTTNews) - American sports betting company DraftKings Inc. (DKNG) plans to make a $20 billion offer to buy British online counterpart Entain Plc, reports said. The acquisition offer is mainly being offered in DraftKings stock along with cash, people close to the matter said.

On Monday, before news of the deal became public, the enterprise value of Entain was around 3.2 billion pounds or $18 billion.

In a filing with the London Stock Exchange, Entain Board of Directors confirmed that it received a proposal from DraftKings. There was no mention of the pricing of the offer in the filing.

Entain said in the filing, "A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate. Shareholders are urged to take no action at this time."

Earlier this year, Entain had received an all-stock offer worth $11 billion from MGM Resorts, which the U.K. gaming company had rejected as it felt that the offer undervalued the company.

MGM and Entain have an online sports betting partnership in the U.S. known as BetMGM.

While MGM is not involved with DraftKings' bid for Entain, MGM's consent is required for any deal involving the U.S. assets of Entain, the company said.